Middle East

Feb. 14, 2015 | 12:16 AM

Many players in the Deraa campaign

A fighter loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad holds his picture as fellow fighters rest by a Syrian national flag after gaining control of the area in Deir al-Adas, a town south of Damascus, Daraa countryside February 10, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

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The Syrian army and its Iranian and Lebanese allies have launched a campaign in southern Syria that marks another attempt at achieving a "decisive" victory against rebel groups, but one that could have political as well as military repercussions.

Observers have speculated about the true objective of the battle, particularly as media reports have quoted Syrian military officers or unnamed sources who talk about three separate goals.

Estimates of the manpower available on the regime side, bolstered by Hezbollah fighters and Shiite paramilitaries from several countries, have run as high as 8,000 . The observer said he thought 4,000 was a more reasonable number, but with only 800 Syrian troops among them.

Gen. Rustom Ghazaleh, a prominent intelligence official, was reportedly seized by the rebels. Ghazaleh had visited Qarfa just days before, to rally the troops and warn that the rebels' western allies had assembled a force of "10,000 fighters" to take his village.

In addition, the regime's "decisive" move south is being countered by a concerted rebel drive to attack two areas with concentrations of government troops – Izra and Sanamein in Deraa province – which the rebels believe are susceptible to being overrun.